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Beef, Cheese, and Noodle Bake

Cooking Light
Beef, Cheese, and Noodle Bake
Photo: Jan Smith

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Worthy of a Special Occasion

This family-friendly casserole is a great way to incorporate more vegetables into children's food. For creamiest results, do not overbake. With more than 200 milligrams of calcium, this dish is a good source of the bone-building mineral.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients

  • 1  (8-ounce) package small elbow macaroni
  • Cooking spray
  • 1  cup  prechopped onion
  • 1  cup  preshredded carrot
  • 2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
  • 1  pound  lean ground sirloin
  • 1  cup  tomato sauce
  • 1  teaspoon  kosher salt, divided
  • 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
  • 1  cup  fat-free milk
  • 2  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
  • 1/8  teaspoon  ground nutmeg
  • 1 1/2  cups  (6 ounces) 2% reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese (such as Cracker Barrel), divided

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Lightly coat pasta with cooking spray.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and carrot, and sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add ground beef; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add tomato sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates.

Add pasta to beef mixture in pan, stirring to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Place milk, flour, nutmeg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan; stir with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add 1 cup cheese, stirring until smooth. Pour cheese mixture over pasta mixture; stir. Top evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information

Calories:
283 (24% from fat)
Fat:
7.7g (sat 4.2g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.7g)
Protein:
22.3g
Carbohydrate:
30.1g
Fiber:
2.1g
Cholesterol:
46mg
Iron:
3.1mg
Sodium:
622mg
Calcium:
209mg
Joy Zacharia, Cooking Light, JANUARY 2006

Member Ratings and Reviews

5 stars
JaniceT
Addictively good, and makes for great leftovers!01/17/10

5 stars
Kellergirl
Nice on a cold evening. Does take 3 pots - but you can clean up while it's baking. I will make again with some changes: either go Italian with spaghetti sauce and added oregano and basil, or Mexican with Mexican stewed tomatoes, green chillies, added chilli powder and cumin. Also will add bell pepper to onion mix. Son ate 2 servings, but rated 2.5 stars.01/08/10